Vesicular acetylcholine transporter

SLC18A3
Identifiers
Aliases	SLC18A3, VACHT, solute carrier family 18 member A3, CMS21
External IDs	MGI: 1101061 HomoloGene: 11022 GeneCards: SLC18A3
Gene ontology Molecular function • acetylcholine binding • acetylcholine transmembrane transporter activity Cellular component • integral component of membrane • plasma membrane • clathrin-sculpted acetylcholine transport vesicle membrane • integral component of plasma membrane • membrane • AP-2 adaptor complex • AP-1 adaptor complex • clathrin-coated vesicle membrane • presynapse Biological process • acetylcholine transport • neurotransmitter transport • neurotransmitter secretion • transmembrane transport • ammonium transmembrane transport • membrane organization • transport Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	6572	20508
Ensembl	ENSG00000187714	ENSMUSG00000100241
UniProt	Q16572	O35304 Q3TYJ1
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_003055	NM_021712
RefSeq (protein)	NP_003046	NP_068358
Location (UCSC)	Chr 10: 49.61 – 49.61 Mb	Chr 14: 32.46 – 32.46 Mb
PubMed search

6572

20508

ENSG00000187714

ENSMUSG00000100241

Q16572

O35304
Q3TYJ1

NM_003055

NM_021712

NP_003046

NP_068358

The Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) is a neurotransmitter transporter which is responsible for loading acetylcholine (ACh) into secretory organelles in neurons making acetylcholine available for secretion. It is encoded by Solute carrier family 18, member 3 (SLC18A3) gene. VAChT is able to transport ACh into vesicles by relying on an exchange between protons that were previously pumped into the vesicle diffusing out. ACh molecules are then carried into the cell by the action of exiting protons. Acetylcholine transport utilizes a proton gradient established by a vacuolar ATPase. This gene is located within the first intron of the choline acetyltransferase gene.

PET imaging of the VAChT may provide insights into early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

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